The first setup I wanted to do a fierce Black and white portrait to set the tone for shoot.

Camera settings f/1.8 @1/200 ISO 100

With a slight change in camera angle you can see how the mood changes in your photograph. That is why I almost always shoot without a tripod. This gives my the freedom to explore the different qualities of light created simply be changing where you stand.

Below is the behind the scenes photo illustrating the lighting set up.

Main/Key light was a Elinchrom Portalite 22″ Octa with translucent deflector. Rim light which was to camera right was a 40′ grid with a 1/4 stop cto warming gel and the fill was a golden bounce reflector.

Second setup

For this setup I took advantage of the available sun light(in this image it created the back light and both rim lights on the subject). When combining available light and artificial strobe lighting it is key to 1st meter the source you cant control. In this case it would be the sunlight. I then add one strobe at a time to get the results I am looking for. The 2 Elinchrom ELB 400 packs and heads were use for a controlled fill light on both front sides of the subject face and legs.

Camera settings F/1.8 @ 1/250 & iso 200

For a slightly different look a separated the model from the bike and Changed the lighting setup slightly. Main/Key light was a 35″ Dynalite grand soft box with internal diffusion, fill light was a golden bounce reflector and the strobe head had a 1/4 stop cto warming gel directed towards the the stationary bike.

Camera Settings F/1.8 @ 1/200 & ISO 100

For the last setup we moved into the yoga room where we created these. We were under a time restraint so no BTS photos for this setup. But I used two Elinchrom ELB 400 power packs with pro heads. Camera left had a 1/4 stop cto warming gel on it to add some warmth.

I tend to lean more towards shooting environmental portraits. Which in my opinion contributes to the story of the photo and the subject. You can tell a lot by someones environment. Who they are, what they do and what they are passionate about. However you have to be careful that the environment doesn’t overpower the subject in the photo.

This is a portrait of Black Label Society prior to the drummer leaving the band. It was shot in the alley in downtown Seattle

Don’t waste you time and money on stock images. I can’t emphasis enough the importance of separating yourself from your competitors. These days everyone wants to shop and meet via the internet. So why not take advantage of it. Show everyone what your brand really is all about with custom imagery.

This is a marketing campaign for a message therapist, showing off some of her advanced massage techniques.

Massaging techniques to sooth a headache and neck pain

Working out the calf tightness

Working on the lower back

and below is a advance technique called cupping. It works by creating suction and negative pressure, massage cupping is used to drain excess fluids and toxins; stimulate the peripheral nervous system; bring blood flow to stagnant muscles and skin; and loosen adhesions, connective tissue and stubborn knots in soft tissues.

By creating your own custom images you will show your potential clients you in action. So lets work together and get you message out to the masses. Contact me @ shawn@shawnkinney.com or cell 702-232-0882

Often times we sit here wishing we had an amazing studio space, the newest camera body or the fanciest lens. Here is a prime example with a little creativity and a small amount of space you can create fun and captivating portraits. For these I used a 7′ x 7′ section of my one car garage and turned it into a make shift studio.

I used the very first lighting kit I ever bought. The Wescott Spiderlite TD5 window light kit bought back in 2007ish. It is a daylight balanced constant lighting that is great for shooting tight portraits. The next decision is what do I use to capture these images? For this series I decide to use my Iphone 6s. To many times I have experienced that as soon as you pull out a commercial/professional grade camera the subject instantly gets nervous. But with Iphone it is a little less intimidating and allows them to relax. I mean how times have you had you picture taken with a Iphone? It really makes it seem as if it just a friend taking a picture of friend and here are the results.

And of course I brought them into photoshop and did my usual finishing touches to my portraits. So here is a prime example that the camera is just part of the process and your ability as a photographer is the true necessary piece of the puzzle. Now when someone ask you what camera you use or prefer. You can tell them the one that is available to me!

This is also the setup I use to do my 1972 Polaroid Land Camera portrait series . Which can be seen here Polaroid Portraits

Thanks for reading and my full portfolio can been seen here shawnkinney.com

Tribalanceis located on the Northwest corner of S. Roselle & Wise Road in Schaumburg. To maintain their Yoga persona the interior build out was constructed of 60% of recycled material. They provide both in group and private sessions and offer Meditation, Yoga, Yoga Teacher training, Barre classes, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Condition, Kickboxing, Tri-fit (bootcamp style training), Thai Bodywork and Acupuncture.

Say hello to Anthony C Baumann(facebook) as he opens up about his life journey to play music. He showed up by his favorite mode of transportation, on his 2015 Ultra Harley Davidson. Here are the two bands he is currently playing in St. Stephen’s Whiskey and Phat Kiss

“Don’t give up on your dream. Its never to late to take the 1st step”

So this is where you grow up, how old were you when you left? I was 9 when I left. I moved to Florida with my mother and 2 bothers. She just wanted a better life away from the city for us kids. I lasted 2-3 years and I had to come back, I truly missed the city. Eventually all the kids gravitated back to the city and my mother ended staying in Florida.

As a kid what did you dream about becoming when you grew up? A Musician. All my life from day one! I guess it started from the effluence of the cartoons. I grew up in 70’s and all the cartoons had bands in them, they were all rock stars. Thats the first thing we did as kids, my dad bought us all instruments. One brother played electric guitar, the other played bass and I played drums.

Did your parents encourage you to be creative? Oh ya. I guess our grandparents were also musicians. They passed away when I was young, so I guess it was just in our blood. Our dad was like go for it and bought us all instruments. My brothers and I joined every band in school and still to this day my brother and I play in a band together. Nothing better then rocking out with your brother. At this point in your life, are you happy where you are at? Yes. Music has taken me everywhere. I have been all over the world. I have played Carnage Hall, Chicago Theater, Ground Zero memorial (911 site in NY) and on several cd’s. I have meet so many amazing people and without music no of it would have ever happened.

If there is one significant thing in your life right now you could change, what would it be? I would love be in a professional touring band and I will never give that dream up. I am still hoping that I’ll find the right spot for myself in a band that can take it to the next level.

Can you share one of your most vivid childhood memories? The house was always haunted. We were defiantly afraid of this place. We lived here with our grandparents and they passed away when I was 7. Not sure if it was just a kids imagination but we would hear people walking up and down the stairs all the time. There was a secret room in the basement. It was a small storage area were my grandfather would keep all his stuff and I was defiantly afraid to go back there.

What accomplishment are you most proud of? That I was able to touch some many different people through my music.Who are your Music Idols/First concert? Bonham, Moon, Neil Purt and of course Dave Grohl(hew just knocked out of the park). I saw Iron Maiden in 1982 at Navy Pier when they played ChicagoFest and they played it for free. I found out thy were playing from a couple kids talking in school. I didn’t really know anyone so I went by myself.

What has been the biggest obstacle in pursuing music? I would have to say finding the right people in life. Finding people with similar likes and similar goals. Thats why it is so hard to keep bands together. Everyone is their own artist and they have their own goals in mind.

Do you have any advice for those people struggling with the dreaded 9 to 5? Don’t give up on your dream. You got to make yourself happy first. If your not happy then move on. You don’t have to be stuck, go out and find something you like to do. I know its a scaring thing and the first step is the hardest thing to do. But you have to do it! Its never to late to take the first step.

If you could go back in time, what advice would you give to your younger self? Practice, practice and more practice. I took a hiatus when I was a kid. I bounced around lot in between different things of interest when I was younger. There was a period of about 20 years of when I didn’t pick up the sticks. I was a semi professional hockey player for a while. I actually didn’t get real job until I was 30. After high school I got a part time job and started skating again, that landed me a job teaching at Addison park district teaching the kids how to play hockey. From there I got a tryout with a semipro team and eventually got signed by LA and went to minor leagues. After the season I came and continued coaching the kids. That lasted about 10 years and man did I love it. So I would say to my younger self practice, practice and focus more on music. If you have that one dream don’t let the distraction of life derail you.

Thanks for sharing Anthony and I hope this shows everyone that its never to late to live the life you deserve. More of my work can be view at www.shawnkinney.com

Say hello to Ambler(facebook) as she explains her journey of transformation and how turning 40 was the happiest year of her life.

I turned 40 in May 2008. I had already lost 90 lbs at that point and had 10 lbs more to go. In June, on a Sunday, I ran my first triathlon. On Monday I had a colonoscopy and on Wednesday I stepped on the Ice for the first time in my life. Welcome to 40.

My motto is never pass up an opportunity!!

Where did you grow up? I grew up in a condo in a suburb on the South side of Toledo, Ohio. My dad was a Longshoreman. He left really early in the morning for work, would be home by 3 o’clock and then it was naptime. Dinner was on the table by 5 and the game shows went on the TV, so the typical middle class blue-collar family life.

As a kid what did you dream about becoming when you grew up? A Marine Biologist. From the time I was about 4 years and I saw my first whale. That continued until college when I flunked Biology and I realized that was not for me. College wasn’t a total bust as it was my undergrad degree in writing that lead me into Hockey.

Did your parents encourage you to be creative? My mom and dad were of the mindset of you go to school, you work hard, get married, buy your house and have your kids. They were pretty traditional.

At this point in your life, are you happy where you are at? I can honestly say that the year I turned 40 by far was has been the happiest year of my life. It’s when I lost weight, started playing hockey and gained a ton of friends.

If there is one significant thing in your life right now you could change, what would it be? I wouldn’t change anything, because if I did, I wouldn’t be who I am today.

Can you share one of your most vivid childhood memories? This was when I was in maybe 2nd or 3rd grade. I was outside with my friends playing in the cornfield behind my house and lost track of time. I had no idea that my mom had been calling me for dinner. I finally realized it was getting dark, so I ran back home. I get in the house and my dad is there. He says, “You are in so much trouble right now. Go and wash your hands for dinner.” As I am washing my hands, I am shaking and I’m thinking to myself, ‘I am in so much trouble right now.” As I walk out of the bathroom, I hear my dad say to my mom, “What are you talking about? She’s in the bathroom washing her hands.” I just realized my dad totally covered for me. When I got to the table for dinner, he looked at me and said, “Now you have to eat your mashed potatoes.” The thing is, he loved mashed potatoes. We had them with every meal and I wasn’t a real big fan. So that night, I ate my mashed potatoes.

What accomplishment are you most proud of? I started playing hockey at the age of 40 and just a year later I was coaching. I met so many other adults in the same situation I’d been in when I first started I thought I had an opportunity to help people avoid what I’d experienced – wanting to play, but not really have a place to go. So I started an instructional league with 11 people 5 years ago and now almost 500 people have been through my program.

What has been the biggest obstacle you came across getting into hockey? The lack of coaching for adults with no hockey experience. When I joined my first hockey clinic, I was on the ice with about 40 people, all men. The entire time, all the coach says to me is “skate faster.” I don’t know how to stop. I don’t know how to turn or to do anything on skates and all he kept saying to me was skate faster. I kept running into the boards, or falling down, everyone laughing at me. It was humiliating. I spent the next week going to open skate in order to teach myself how to stop. All along I had this fantasy in my head of snowing the coach at the next clinic. So the next week, I get to the hockey clinic and there are about 10 people there and a new coach. The first thing he does is teaches us how to stop. That’s when I thought to myself this is ridiculous and in that moment I know what kind of hockey coach I’d want to be. Now that I have my instructional league, the very first thing I ask is who doesn’t know how to stop. We teach them to stop before going on to anything else.

What has been the biggest change in your life after finding your happy place? Probably getting divorced.About 2 years after I started playing, I guess I changed too much. The ironic thing is our relationship was all about taking chances and growing together. We would always jump at new opportunities, but this time I jumped and he didn’t. That led to my husband and I growing apart. It was a very successful 23-year relationship, but it got to the point where he didn’t recognize the person he fell in love with anymore and he had to move on. We were ok with that. He needed to be where he was happy and I needed to be where I was happy and this is where I am happy.

Do you have any advice for those people struggling with the dreaded 9 to 5? Well I don’t have a dreaded 9 to 5.I love to teach.I teach where other people don’t want to teach on the South Side of Chicago. I teach 7th grade science, social studies and reading. Don’t get me wrong, it has its bad days. There are days that I feel like I didn’t do anything meaningful, but those days are out-weighed by the good days. Hockey is a part time job for me, but is such a huge part of my life. Since it’s only a part time job, so many people ask me why I put so much time into it. Well the reason is, when I see the smiles on the faces of players that go through my program, it gives such a intrinsic satisfaction knowing that I had something to do with that. I have also met so many amazing people. Some have become my dearest friends and I would not have that if I didn’t start this program. It is a passion and if you do something that you are passionate about, the time is always worth it.

If you could go back in time, what advice would you give to your younger self? My motto is never pass up an opportunity!! You’re going to do what you’re going to do and it will all work out in the end. If something comes your way, you figure out how to make it work. I read something recently that said something like “people like to say ‘I can’t.’ But its not that they can’t, its just that they don’t really want to.”

Thanks for sharing Ambler and I hope this shows everyone that its never to late to live the life you deserve. More of my work can be view at www.shawnkinney.com

This was rebranding campion for Integrity Automotive(see the images on his website). The job was to bring a photography studio on location. Nate Bean the owner of Integrity Automotive wanted portraits of himself and his employee’s on a white seamless in order to blend into his already designed website. He also wanted me to capture his automotive shop and some of the crew at work. Here are the results..

They use Smart cars for there customer loaners

and some of the Portraits on a White Backdrop. My complete studio is mobile and ready to come to you. So if you are ready to show your clients who you really just give me a call. You wont be disappointed.